Escape from predators and genetic variance in birds

Jiang, Yiting; Møller, Anders Pape

doi:10.1111/jeb.13175

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…First, behavior toward humans may not necessarily be a reliable indicator of overall anti‐predator behavior (Seress & Liker, ). Several studies treat the two as equivalents, generalizing responses to humans as an estimate of responses to any kind of predator (Jiang & Møller, ; Michelangeli, Chapple, Goulet, Bertram, & Wong, ; Møller, ; Møller & Ibáñez‐Álamo, ; Møller, Vágási, & Pap, ). Our results suggest that responses to humans and to non‐human predators do not necessarily covary; thus, we need to be careful with this kind of interpretation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The correlation between responses to humans and responses to non‐human predators is often considered to be particularly strong, as it is frequently assumed that animals perceive humans as a type of predator (Beale & Monaghan, ; Frid & Dill, ). Consequently, some authors interpret responses toward humans as a measure of general anti‐predator response (Stankowich & Blumstein, ); for example, they consider the relatively low flight initiation distances (Jiang & Møller, ; Møller, ) and higher docility during handling (Møller & Ibáñez‐Álamo, ) by urban compared to non‐urban birds as decreased general anti‐predator behavior. This “general risk‐taking” hypothesis predicts that as animals increase their risk‐taking toward humans in urban habitats, their risk‐taking toward non‐human predators also becomes greater (Geffroy et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Great tits take greater risk toward humans and sparrowhawks in urban habitats than in forests

et al. 2019

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Urban animals often take more risk toward humans than their non‐urban conspecifics do, but it is unclear how urbanization affects behavior toward non‐human predators. Responses to humans and non‐human predators may covary due to common mechanisms enforcing a phenotypic correlation. However, while increased tolerance toward humans may be advantageous for urban animals, reduced vigilance toward non‐human predators that can pose actual threat may be costly. Therefore, urban animals may benefit from showing specific responses to different threat levels, such as humans versus non‐human predators, or hostile versus non‐hostile humans. To test these alternatives, we compared responses (latencies to return to nest) of urban and forest‐breeding great tits (Parus major) to familiar hostile and unfamiliar humans as well as one of their common predators, the sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). We found that urban birds were more risk‐taking toward both humans and sparrowhawk than forest birds. However, responses to sparrowhawk did not correlate with responses to humans either within or across habitats. This suggests that higher risk‐taking of urban compared to forest‐dwelling great tits toward sparrowhawk may be threat‐specific response to lower predation risk rather than a spillover effect of increased tolerance to humans. Furthermore, birds responded similarly to unfamiliar and familiar (potentially dangerous) humans in both habitats, suggesting that great tits may not adjust their risk‐taking to the threat represented by individual humans. These findings indicate that urban birds may flexibly adjust their risk‐taking to certain, but not all, types of threat.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Great tits take greater risk toward humans and sparrowhawks in urban habitats than in forests

et al. 2019

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“…It is worth noting that our predictors have certain limitations because birds' behaviour is affected by inherent genetic characteristics such as temperament and physiological properties [60]. Species could be a relatively important factor in explaining variations in FID [50].…”

Section: The Predictors Of Birds' Fid Among Environmental Characteris...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Birds’ Flight Initiation Distance in Residential Areas of Beijing Are Lower than in Pristine Environments: Implications for the Conservation of Urban Bird Diversity

et al. 2023

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(1) Background: With rapid urbanization, birds are facing a variety of challenges. Evaluating bird behaviour changes in response to urbanization can help us understand how to make them coexist sustainably with humans. We aimed to investigate whether birds inhabiting residential areas differed in their escape behaviour and their influencing factors. (2) Methods: We used the flight initiation distance (FID), the horizontal distance between the observer and the target bird when it escapes, to measure the escape behaviour of birds. We chose 40 urban residential areas within the 5th ring road in Beijing and conducted surveys each month for one year. We applied Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) separately to evaluate the response variable of FID for the total species, the most common species, and the other species. (3) Results: Birds that appear more frequently in residential areas or as ground foragers, insectivores, and omnivores are better adapted to human interference and have shorter FIDs. Individual initial conditions affect bird FID, and environmental characteristics can be used as predictors for the most common birds. Tree canopy coverage was found to positively affect FID, while floor area ratio (FAR) is negatively correlated with FID. (4) Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that birds in residential areas have been adapting to the human environment, and urban tree canopies can provide refuge for birds to avoid human interference. Our study focused on the response of bird FIDs to human interference and urban trees under high urbanization, which has substantial practical implications for urban managers to improve habitat quality to ensure that birds coexist with human beings.

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“…The presence of pike predators clearly increased salmon mortality, suggesting that predator avoidance skills were decisive for survival. Low genetic diversity has previously been associated with decreased predator avoidance (Auld & Relyea, 2010; Jiang & Møller, 2017; Møller & Nielsen, 2015). However, in the present study, LS had the lowest mortality, while the hybrids showed 21–26% higher predation risk.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This requires cognitive skills for predator detection as well as physiological, behavioral or morphological defense traits, all of which could be hampered in small and declining populations. For example, avian prey species with low genetic diversity are known to display reduced antipredator behavior (Jiang & Møller, 2017) and experience a higher risk of predation (Møller & Nielsen, 2015). Further, inbreeding reduces the ability of Physa acuta snails to plastically respond to changing predation risks (Auld & Relyea, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fitness effects of assisted gene flow in an endangered salmonid population

Klemme,

Pysäys,

Hyvärinen

et al. 2023

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Assisted gene flow is increasingly used to combat severe population declines. However, the associated risks, such as outbreeding depression, are often insufficiently assessed. Here, we studied the impact of assisted gene flow on the fitness of a highly endangered landlocked salmon population (Salmo salar m. sebago) from the lake Saimaa complex (Finland), using an anadromous Atlantic salmon population (S. salar) as donor. We released individuals of both parental populations and their hybrids into seminatural streams, monitoring their survival under predation risk from Northern pike (Esox lucius) and their growth on a natural diet. Before release, we exposed half of the salmon to the parasite Diplostomum pseudospathaceum to study whether assisted gene flow affects infection susceptibility, which could indirectly shape predation susceptibility and growth. The parental populations differed in both studied traits and the hybrids showed intermediate values. Relative to the target landlocked salmon population, hybrids experienced 21–26% lower survival, but 1.4–2.2% higher growth. They also carried 0.6–2.8 more parasites than the landlocked salmon, contributing to survival differences. These findings indicate that assisted gene flow can induce both negative and positive fitness effects. We propose that the overall net effects of this conservation tool need to be carefully evaluated before its implementation.

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Escape from predators and genetic variance in birds

Cited by 10 publications

References 69 publications

Great tits take greater risk toward humans and sparrowhawks in urban habitats than in forests

Great tits take greater risk toward humans and sparrowhawks in urban habitats than in forests

Birds’ Flight Initiation Distance in Residential Areas of Beijing Are Lower than in Pristine Environments: Implications for the Conservation of Urban Bird Diversity

Fitness effects of assisted gene flow in an endangered salmonid population

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